The present invention relates to apparatus for making exposures of originals on photosensitive material, especially on film units of the type wherein two sheets overlap each other and are temporarily separated during transport through a liquid developing agent.
As a rule, the exposing unit of a developing apparatus of the class to which the present invention pertains comprises a light source, a platform for originals, a set of color filters and an adjustable optical system for focusing the image of the original onto a film unit. The photosensitive material is supported in the positive plane and is transferred into the developing unit upon completion of the exposing step.
An apparatus of the above outlined character is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,717 granted Mar. 14, 1967 to Okishima et al. In order to save time and labor, the enlarging and developing means are combined into a unitary structure. A drawback of the patented apparatus is that the transport of exposed photosensitive material from the exposure station to and through the developing station, especially through a series of consecutive liquid baths, is carried out by a complex and expensive advancing mechanism. Therefore, apparatus of the type disclosed in the patent to Okishima et al. are not sufficiently economical to warrant their use by individual amateur photographers who desire to make enlarged prints of their color films at home. The bulk of the patented apparatus is so substantial that such apparatus can find use solely in commercial photographic processing laboratories for mass production of prints from exposed and developed customer films.
Reference may also be had to U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,452 granted Mar. 30, 1943 to Pifer for "Photographic Apparatus".